Conclusion

     As I have written about whether or not the price of college is worth the reward, I have learned a lot. I have discovered that college is definitely not for everyone. For many people, the price of college is not worth the reward. While this did not surprise me, some of the reasons for this did surprise me. One of the reasons that surprised me was that only 29 percent of four year college graduates read at an advanced level. In writing this blog, I have learned not only what I hoped to learn, but more also.
     Focusing on my topic in phases had some benefits and some drawbacks. One of the benefits was that I learned how to write a good summary and a good response before putting them together. By the time I needed to write a post including both of them, I had received input on how to improve my summaries and responses, and was able to apply this information. Another way that working through this topic in phases helped was that I was able to learn how to find better sources as I moved forward. If I had written this all at one time, my sources would probably have been pretty weak. One drawback was that I felt that some posts were incomplete. In the summary post for example, I would have loved to address some of what the author said in his article, but I was not able to. As a whole though, addressing the topic in phases did help me.
     After this blog, I will change the way I learn about topics a little bit. While I probably will not approach them all in phases, I will apply some of what I learned by approaching this topic in phases. I will try to approach my topics in bite sized chunks, rather than trying to learn everything at once.
     While this topic has made me more confident about my ability to discuss this topic with others, it has not changed my confidence level when it comes to discussing other topics. The main reason for this is that I already was fairly comfortable discussing topics with others. I enjoy hearing the other side of an argument and trying to respond to it.
     The most valuable thing that I have learned about research while writing this blog is how to assess a sources credibility. Because of what I have learned about assessing a source's credibility, the papers I write moving forward will be meaningful. My papers will be able to use credible arguments and counter arguments, giving them weight. Not only have I gained knowledge about my topic writing this blog, I have gained knowledge regarding how to approach writing any topic.